Febric material for pressure molding without adhesive and lamination

ABSTRACT

Weft knitted fabric for making molded cups directly without using a laminating sponge. The fabric includes three interlocked layers, overlayer, underlayer and connecting layer. The overlayer is formed from fusible fibers and polyurethane fibers, the underlayer is formed from microfiber and polyurethane fibers, and the connecting layer is formed from synthetic monofilament yarns.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims benefit from Provisional Application No. 61/930,959, filed Jan. 24, 2014, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a knitting fabric, particularly to a multi-layered knitting fabric which can be molded into shapes by hot press without needing any adhesive and laminating sponge between the layers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Molded bras are dominating the overall bra market and becoming a fundamental fashion item. Elastic fabrics are used for making molded cup in women's bra and sports bra or other piece garment bra. Seamless molded cup are mostly produced by a laminating technique which laminates two elastic fabrics together through a layer of sponge sandwiched therebetween, of which the production process is complicated and expensive. Additionally, the binder used may contain substances harmful to human health. The bounded fabric also has a poor breathability and therefore less comfortable to wearers.

A fabric with special functions and structure called SPACER has been widely used to address the aforementioned problems, but such fabric also has its own disadvantages, such as poor size stability after the molded cup being washed and prone to wrinkle, affecting garment's visual appearance and wearing comfortableness. As a result, it is not very successful in the market and not widely accepted by consumers.

Terminology: “molded cup” refers to a 3D fabric object with an outer contour shaped like the female chest and a complementary recess on the inner side for holding and supporting a female breast when used in the women's underwear or sportswear.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a fabric material for making molded cups, which improves hand feel and resistance to deformation after being washed, the common problems in the prior art molded cups. This object is achieved by designing a new type of fabric material which can be press molded directly without adhesive and laminating sponge. This fabric includes an overlayer, an underlayer and a connecting layer sandwiched between the overlayer and underlayer. All three layers are integrally knitted in a single process. The molded cup made with this fabric material, when used in underwear and sportswear, is lightweight, provides improved breathability and maintains the shape even after repeated washing. These advantageous effects are brought about by the fabric structure and constituent materials: the overlayer is knitted with continuous yarns made of a mixture of fusible synthetic fibers and elastomeric fibers; the underlayer is knitted with continuous yarns made of a mixture of microfibers and elastomeric fibers; and the connecting layer consists of yarns running up and down connecting yarn loops in the overlayer and yarn loops in the underlayer.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a molded cup for women's bra, underwear and sportswear. This object is achieved by heat press, on a suitable mold, of the fabric material of the present invention without using any adhesive and sponge.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages, and specific objects attained by its use, reference should be made to the drawings and the following description in which there are illustrated and described preferred embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of a fabric according to the present invention showing the three interconnected layers.

FIG. 2 is a feed notation diagram for weft knitting the fabric shown in FIG. 1 on a circular weft knitting machine.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PARTICULAR EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION Fabric Structure

FIG. 1 shows a cross sectional view of a fabric material as a particular embodiment of the present invention. As it can be seen, the fabric comprises overlayer 1, underlayer 2 and connecting layer 3. The connecting layer 3 is sandwiched between the over-layer and the under-layer, forming an integral reticulation structure.

Fiber Materials

Overlayer 1 is knitted with composite yarns comprising fusible fibers and elastomeric fibers in a suitable ratio determined by a person of ordinary skill in the art. Underlayer 2 is knitted with composite yarns comprising microfine fibers and elastomeric fibers in a suitable ratio determined by a person of ordinary skill in the art. Connecting layer 3 is monofilament yarns connecting the overlayer and the underlayer. All the yarns used are purchased off-the-shelf and they are commonly available in the market. Chemically, the fusible yarn, microfiber yarn and monofilament yarn are synthetics and they can be either polyester (PET) or polyamide (nylon). The elastomeric yarn used is chemically polyurethane (spandex). For all these yarns, any fabric grade and specs may be used, selection of which is within ordinary skill in the art. The term “fusible fiber” or “fusible yarn” is generally known in the art. It refers to the fiber or yarn that can be melted at a predetermined temperature and cooled to adhere each other or other fibers and form a bond. In this context, “fiber” and “yarn” sometimes are used interchangeably.

Knitting

The knitting process is conducted on a circular knitting machine, 10 feeds/2 needle per cycle. The details of the knitting structure are provided by the notation diagram shown in the FIG. 2.

Overlayer: feeds 2, 4, 7, and 9 with fusible and polyurethane fibers producing a basic crossover interlocked loop structure. In feed 2 the first needle knits but the second needle does not, while in feed 4 the second needle knits and the first one does not, with the non-knitting yarn of the first needle in feed 4 running behind the stitch formed by the first needle in feed 2 and, conversely, the non-knitting yarn of the second needle in feed 2 running behind the stitch formed by the second needle in feed 4. Feeds 7 and 9 run exactly like feeds 2 and 4 but in the opposite direction, producing stitches which are inter-looped with the stitches produced in feeds 2 and 4. The four feeds repeat and produce an interlaced network structure. Within the network structure, the fusible yarns after hot press at 190° C. and 60 seconds would form a bond as if by a “welding” action, so that the network structure is very stable and serves as a foundation for maintaining stability of the size and shape of the molded object when washed and avoiding wrinkles. The addition of the polyurethane fiber provides the fabric structure a needed degree of malleability to facilitate the process of hot press molding.

Underlayer: feeds 3, 5, 8, and 10 with microfiber and polyurethane fibers forming a similar interlaced network structure as feeds 2, 4, 7 and 9. As it is located at the surface in direct contact with the skin, microfiber is used to enhance the comfortableness when coming in touch with the skin. Similarly as in the overlayer, polyurethane is used to provide the needed malleability to facilitate hot press molding.

Connecting layer: feeds 1 and 5 with monofilament yarns. It mimics the effect of a buffering space as provided by traditional laminating sponge. However, unlike the sponge which contains bubble like structures (less permeable), the connecting layer has cross-over network structures that is both more stable and more breathable.

ADVANTAGES OVER THE PRIOR ART

The molded cup according to the present invention is produced in a single integral process. It omits the laminating process for combining two or three sheets of fabric and thus saves a large amount of labor and materials and lower the manufacture costs. Eliminating the use of the sponge and binder reduces the harmful effect to health. The innovative selection of fiber materials and knitting structures for the fabric makes the molded cup more pleasant to touch, more breathable and less in weight. Therefore, it is particular suitable for applications in women's underwear and sportswear.

While there have been described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes, in the form and details of the embodiments illustrated, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. The invention is not limited by the embodiments described above which are presented as examples only but can be modified in various ways within the scope of protection defined by the appended patent claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An non-laminated knitted fabric, comprising an overlayer, an underlayer and a connecting layer, said overlayer being knitted with a fusible fiber and a synthetic elastomeric fiber, said underlayer being knitted with a synthetic microfiber and synthetic elastomeric fiber and said connecting layer being knitted with synthetic monofilament yarns which connect said overlayer and said underlayer through interlock stitches and provides a bulkiness to said fabric.
 2. The non-laminated knitted fabric of claim 1, wherein said microfiber, monofilament and fusible fiber are independently polyamide or polyester.
 3. The non-laminated knitted fabric of claim 2, wherein said elastomeric fiber is polyurethane.
 4. The non-laminated knitted fabric of claim 1, wherein said fabric is knitted on a knitting machine running 10 feed/2 needle for cycle.
 5. The non-laminated knitted fabric of claim 4, wherein said overlayer is formed from feeds 2, 4, 7 and 9, said underlayer is formed from feeds 3, 5, 8 and 10, and said connecting layer is formed from feeds 1 and
 5. 6. The non-laminated knitted fabric of claim 5, wherein said overlayer is formed from fusible polyamide and polyurethane fibers, said underlayer is formed from microfiber and polyurethane fibers, and said connecting layer is formed from a synthetic monofilament.
 7. A molded cup, comprising a knitted fabric according to claim
 1. 8. A clothing article, comprising a molded cup according to claim
 7. 9. The clothing article of claim 8, which is underwear or sportswear. 